A Guide to the Creekmore Fath Papers, [circa 1920s-2000s]

Composed of correspondence, memos,
reports, speeches, flyers, photos, audio recordings, and original artwork, the
Creekmore Fath Papers, [circa 1920s–2000s], document Fath’s education at the
University of Texas, his work in the Roosevelt administration, his involvement with
the Democratic National Committee and Democrats of Texas, numerous political
campaigns in which he was involved, his legal practice, and other personal and
professional matters, such as his book and art collections.

Born in Oklahoma, Creekmore Fath (1916-2009) grew up in Cisco and Fort Worth, Texas
before attending the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied economics and
earned a law degree in 1939. After a year of private practice, Fath moved to
Washington, D.C. to serve in the Franklin Roosevelt administration as legal council
for the House Select Committee investigating the millions of destitute workers
migrating from Oklahoma to California. Fath famously drew attention to the issue by
arranging for Eleanor Roosevelt to testify before congress on behalf of the
committee.

In 1942, Fath underwent basic training in the U.S. Army and briefly worked in the
Office of Strategic Services. He served as legal council for a number of other
boards and committees under the Roosevelt Administration, including the Board of
Economic Warfare investigating international cartels and the Presidential Advisory
Commission. In 1946, he became Special Assistant to Secretary of the Interior J.A.
Krug.

In 1947, Fath resigned from his post in the Department of the Interior to become
Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee
(DNC). However, his work in the DNC was short-lived, as he married Adele Hay Byrne
and returned to Austin that same year, where he reopened his private practice and
immersed himself in Texas politics. After unsuccessfully running for U.S. Congress
as a Democrat in 1948, he became involved in the Democratic Party in Texas, then the
only active political party in the state.y.

During the 1950s, Fath, Frankie Carter Randolph, and other progressive Democrats
organized the Democrats of Texas as the liberal opposition to the conservative
Dixiecrat rule of the Democratic Party under Allan Shivers and Lyndon Johnson. In
1960, Fath returned to Washington to act as council to the Freedom of Information
Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, which enforced media requirements for
giving equal time to political candidates. Fath served as chairman for Ralph
Yarborough’s Gubernatorial Campaign in 1968, and as Frances Farenthold’s
gubernatorial campaign manager in 1972 and 1974.

Fath was a generous donor to political causes and campaigns, with many connections to
politicians and activists in Washington and Texas, such as Bernard Rapoport, Robert
Eckhardt, and Bill Clinton. As friends of Clinton, Fath and Adele spent the night at
the White House in the Lincoln Bedroom in 1997. He also supported the University of
Texas and was member of the school’s Liberal Arts Foundation Advisory Council.

An avid collector of books and art, Fath owned the largest private collection of
Thomas Hart Benton Lithographs in the world and published a book on Benton’s work
entitled The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton through the University of Texas Press
in 1969.

Composed of correspondence, memos, reports, speeches, flyers, photos, audio
recordings, and original artwork, the Creekmore Fath Papers, [circa 1920s–2000s],
document Fath’s education at the University of Texas, his work in the Roosevelt
administration, his involvement with the Democratic National Committee and Democrats
of Texas, numerous political campaigns in which he was involved, his legal practice,
and other personal and professional matters, such as his book and art
collections.

The Democrats of Texas series, 1940-1980s, covers Fath’s involvement with the
organization as vice-chairman, secretary treasurer, and in other capacities. The
series is composed of correspondence, memos, reports, newspaper clippings, campaign
materials, pamphlets, photographs, and five audio recordings from Yarborough’s 1954
campaign. It is divided into several subseries relating to county organization,
committees, elections, special events, and senator Yarborough.

The Campaigns series, 1948, 1960, 1971-1974, documents the Farenthold gubernatorial
campaigns of 1972 and 1974 and Fath’s own campaign for U.S. Congress in 1948. The
series is composed of press releases, speeches, internal memos and communication,
articles, advertisements, campaign finances, donor records, and photographs. It also
includes 54 audio recordings from the 1972 Farenthold Campaign.

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration series, 1932-1947, comprises materials
relating to Roosevelt’s presidential campaigns in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944, as
well as the numerous government committees and agencies for which Fath served as
legal council, including the Board of Economic Warfare, which investigated
international cartels, and the Defense Migration Committee, which investigated the
millions of destitute workers moving to California. This series also covers Fath’s
service as executive assistant to Secretary of the Interior J. A. Krug. Materials in
this series include memos, speeches, reports, advertisements, correspondence,
newspaper clippings and photographs.

The Personal Papers series, 1920s-2000s, pertains to Fath’s personal activities and
interests such as his education and art collection. The series consists mainly of
correspondence, but also includes assorted papers and reports, newspaper clippings,
photographs, and original artwork by Bob Eckhardt and other political
cartoonists.

Documenting Fath’s private practice, the Legal Papers series, 1950s-1960s, contains
records from several organizations for which Fath served as legal council, including
ICT Corporation and the Austin Labor Temple Association, as well as client files,
court transcripts, and legal documents.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) series, 1940s-1970s, covers Fath’s brief
service as executive assistant to the executive director of the DNC, and is composed
of correspondence, memos, reports, and newspaper clippings.

The Young Democrats series, 1930s-1960s, consists of material relating to the Young
Democrats club that Fath helped to found as a student at the University of Texas at
Austin, including correspondence, pamphlets, and publications. Fath maintained ties
to the organization well after he graduated.

The Tidelands Controversy series, 1940s-1940s, is composed of material relating to
the legal dispute between the federal government and a number of states over rights
to coastland. Fath followed the controversy with great interest, preserving
articles, reports, correspondence, and his letters to the editors of several
newspapers.

The Freedom of Communication Subcommittee series, 1960-1965, documents Fath’s service
on the media watchdog subcommittee and the equal coverage laws. It consists of
memos, budgets, correspondence between Fath and Yarborough, and senate
resolutions.

Organization and Arrangement

The papers are arranged into nine series. (Subsequent additions to the collection
have not been inserted into the arrangement scheme, and are listed at the end of the
inventory.) Series and subseries are arranged by size and relative importance, and
material within each subseries is arranged chronologically: